Step by Step
by JLeoxx
Summary: In FTA, there is a rank of the most popular and wanted boyfriends. Every girl would do anything for them except for one, Lucy Heartfilia. After refusing to do one of their wishes, they had made it a competition to see who will make Lucy fall in love with them first.
1. Their New Interest

**JLeoxx:** I'm bringing back Step by Step guys. Some of you may know this story before under my previous pen name: JennishaTjung. Well, I'm bringing it back. Those of you, who have ever read it, tell me in the review. I really want to know how many of you are actually still there.

* * *

A gush of air blew through the window in the classroom. It was a brand new day and not to mention just the second day back to school in Fairy Tail Academy. Everyone was excited, unlike any other school in Magnolia, Fairy Tail Academy was a fun school, in spite of the subjects that pressured the students, there were club activities to redeem for it. But of course, this was not the only reason... So what is?

Yes, Fairy Tail Academy has a rank of the most popular and wanted boyfriends and needless to say, they were handsome. Each of them has their own individual personalities that differentiate them from each other. Besides that, they were smart and would always gain top 5 in the school board. This was what made Fairy Tail Academy interesting to other's eyes. The girls were especially looking forward to meeting them again since they couldn't during the school break. Not exactly all the girls, well at least not a certain blonde, Lucy Heartfilia.

"Ughh," the blonde groaned as she banged her head repeatedly against her desk. She was suffering from a massive headache. The start of school was always tough on her, since she got so used to sleeping late during the holidays, sometimes not sleeping at all, it was hard for her to sleep the night before and this was proven by the dark circles under her eyes.

"Lu-chan!" her best friend, a bookworm, Levy McGarden called out to her as she entered the classroom with a huge smile on her face. Why you asked? Well it's because they were placed in the same classroom for once, which was a very rare opportunity considering that the classes were always shuffled every year.

The blonde also known as Lucy slowly lifted her head and mustered a smile, "Hi Levy-chan," She looked around the empty classroom once again and realized that they were the only two people there before she asked, "So who else are in the same class with us?"

"You didn't see the notice board?" Levy asked in confusion as her spirit suddenly lifted up when she seemed to remember something she had forgotten. "Lu-chan!" she exclaimed, "Did you know that the _'populars'_ are in our class? And I mean all of them," she said in excitement.

Hearing this statement, the blonde went back to banging her head against the table and groaned, "Then this class will definitely be full of loud noisy and annoying fangirls…" she said in disappointment. "Why… Kamisama, why do you have to do this to me," she looked up and whined.

As if on cue, the silence was suddenly replaced by footsteps and squeals of fan girls, lots of them. Entering her classroom, were five guys. The one on the very left was a blue-haired guy with a tattoo below his eyes, Jellal Fernandes. He was ranked as the fifth most popular in the magazine last year. He, unlike some of the others were not actually not all talks. He's quite a gentleman compared to the others and he was more calm and cool. Beside him stood none other than a tall blonde and muscular guy, Laxus Dreyar who was into body-building and always and literally always wear headphones.

Laxus Dreyar was scary in Lucy's opinion, she wondered how the fangirls weren't scared of him at all. On the very right stood the school's biggest player, Loke who had different girlfriends every single day and yet despite how he always broke their hearts, he still has a lot of girls waiting to be his girlfriend on his pending list. Beside him stood Gajeel, who had piercing everywhere, including his face. He was, in Lucy's opinion, cruel and sadistic. She had once witnessed him choking a junior male student and since then, just really didn't want to do anything with him.

Lastly, the leader of the group and the number one among the popular, Gray Fullbuster, who was really nothing but a jerk in Lucy's eyes. All of them had one thing in common, they abused their powers. Ordering their fangirls to do errands for them, even some time their detention work like moping the class floor when they got into troubles but worst out of all was Gray and yet he still was chosen three times in a row, the number one most popular.

Yep, Lucy could see her school year not turning fun at all with all the five jerks in her class. This was the worst, she really wished she was not in a class with them and her prayer had been granted last year but just not this year.

The five guys sat at the corner of the class, thankfully far from Lucy. She eyed the five of them as they were still surrounded by the fangirls screaming and asking them who they planned to be with during lunch, hoping that they will be the lucky one.

Turning to Levy, Lucy cried out as she frantically shook the bluenette's arm, "Please Levy-chan, tell me that I'm dreaming and I'm not placed in this class." She said in desperation.

Her friend sighed and patted her shoulder, "You know, most girls are usually excited. Hmm…There is something that might lighten up your mood," the girl said thoughtfully, "Erza and Mira are also in this class."

"Really?" the blonde stood up in excitement, "This year might not be so bad afterall," she said giving a second thought when she was called out from the other side of the room.

"Oii, you there!"

She flinched and looked at the source of the voice, forcing a smile on her face, "Yes?" she tried asking as politely as she could and realized she was called by none other than Gray Fullbuster.

"Can you book our seats in the Cafeteria for lunch?" he asked as he looked at her with no interest. The fangirls around him squealed saying that he looked cool with that expression of his and whatsoever. "Uh-oh," the blonde heard her friend mutter as she knew what was going to happen. "Don't do this Lu-chan," she whispered in warning.

Yes, disagreeing to what the populars wanted was a big risk. If you were a boy, then they might bully you and if you were a girl then they would make all the girls in your class hate you but knowing Lucy, her best friend knew that the blonde's hatred for them was huge and she would rather get hated by the girls in her class than doing the wishes of the populars.

"Oh? You mean you and your friends over there?" she said sarcastically as she pointed over to the five of them. Gray nodded in response. _'This is not good'_ Levy thought to herself.

"Hmm… of course I'll do it, Gray- _sama_ " the blonde chirped in a very unusual high pitched voice. _'this is definitely not good.'_ Levy thought as her hand started to sweat, fearing for what was about to come. She noticed that Gray already had a smirk on his face as he watched Lucy turning to walk out of the class before she stopped and glared at the man.

"Hah?! Did you really think I would say that?" she declared gaining the attention of not only Gray and his fangirls but also the other four populars. "Oh hell no," she continued, "Go do it yourself, you lazy ass bastard."

Gray stood up from his place as Levy gasped in fear. He walked from his place and went to the blonde. He gave Levy a glance before turning to the blonde, "What's your name?" he asked.

"Why?" she challenged him as her glare intensified.

"Her name is Lucy," Levy squeaked, fearing that if her best friend angered Gray further then Lucy might really get into a situation worse than she was already in.

Gray smirked and used his index finger, lifting the blonde's chin as he leaned closer, "Lucy," he said in a low husky voice as he whispered beside her ear, "Do what I want and I'll go on a date with you." He expected her to give in to him and do as he wished before she slapped away his hand, "Don't touch me," she said, her eyes never leaving his. "Let's go Levy-chan," she said and dragged her best friend out of the class.

"Well well well," his friends came up to him and Gajeel placed a hand on his shoulder mockingly, "Looks like the charming Gray Fullbuster just got himself rejected."

He shrugged his shoulder and with a smirk he declared, "Not for long. I will make her fall for me." He licked his lips and smiled deviously as one of their fangirls spoke among the crowd, "But that's impossible, Lucy Heartfilia hates all of you,"

"Hmm..That sounds like a challenge for all of us, don't you think so?" the orange haired playboy commented as he wrapped his arms around his current girlfriend.

With this statement, not only Gray but all five of them smirked. Laxus, taking off his headphones, said in amusement, "Well then... I guess we have a competition don't we?"

* * *

 **JLeoxx:** How was it? I hope it wasn't too bad… Please drop a review, thank you~


	2. Who?

**Disclaimer** **:** _I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does…_

* * *

"Lu-chan!" the bluenette called out to her best friend who had been dragging her towards to who-knows where for a while now. As if her best friend just snapped out of her trance, she stopped mid-way and loosened her grip on her best friend. She let out a sigh and massaged her forehead, "Sorry," apologizing softly, she slumped against the wall and shut down her eyes.

"That guy is damn annoying," she complained and scoffed, straightening her posture. "What is wrong with him?!" as a reflex, she glared at her blue-haired bestfriend who flinched before calming herself down and continued with her statement, " _Do what I want and I'll go on a date with you_ "she said, imitating Gray's voice in mockery.

"Tch," she scoffed as she crossed her arms across her chest and huffed. The silence passed by them before Levy cleared her throat and began softly, "Is the sole reason why you hate him so much really just because of him?" she mumbled the words but loud enough for her best friend to hear.

"I…" Lucy spoke when suddenly she kept her head low, her hair creating shadows that covered her face, she stopped for a moment, which Levy did not fail to notice and hesitated before lifting her head once again, "I don't know what you mean, I hate him solely because he's a jerk." She stated regaining her confidence.

"But I guess you'd better start getting used to it," her best friend stated bluntly with a sad smile on her face, "I mean you may not like it but you _are_ classmates with him-" she said before correcting herself, "them."

After another moment of silence, Lucy let out a sigh in defeat and agreed to what her best friend was saying. She did have a point after all, "But this doesn't mean I'll start liking them either," she pointed out and pouted, both of them started walking and headed back to their classroom.

"I never expected you to," Levy said in a teasing manner, "I mean who would even think of Lucy Heartfilia falling over one of the populars…right?"

"Of course, hmph!" the blonde replied in a childish-like manner. She turned around the corner and was about to head up the stairs before stopping and grinned. "Hey! Since we're here anyway, we should book our place in the Cafeteria,"

Apparently, Lucy had dragged Levy far down to reach the Cafeteria and since they expected the Cafeteria to be full on the first days of school, this would be a good opportunity to reserve a sit for their group. Levy nodded in approval and following her best friend, she made a u-turn and headed back to the floor they were on before, opening a door and entered the Cafeteria of the school.

They stepped on the red carpet that covered the entire floor of the room and walked down the path in the center, heading straight to the counter. Lucy noticed the Cafeteria had been repainted and looked a bit more renewed than before. The pillars had gold decorative edge and the border of the room was also painted gold. Not a bad change, she would say.

"Hi, how may I help you today?" a girl standing behind the counter asked as she smiled politely. Her hair was purple and short and she was wearing the uniform for staffs in the school.

"I want to make a reservation for 4 seats for lunch at 12 o'clock today," Lucy replied back with a smile.

The girl in return typed on the computer as she checked for available seats left and gestured towards the seats remaining, handing out a slip of paper in process. Levy took the slip and read it, "32" glancing around the room to search for their seats which turned out to be the one near the center of the room.

Just then, footsteps of shoes were heard, too heavy for a girl, Lucy thought and she turned back, greeted by the sight of one of the populars. She sighed and was about to walk away before a voice stopped her. "That was brave of you,"

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy could see the faint smile and a glimpse of blue hair with a tattoo underneath his eyes. Just before walking away, she too smiled and muttered softly under her breath, "Thanks." With that, she left the Cafeteria together with her best friend.

* * *

Right after Lucy stormed out of the class, Gray had made a declaration that he will make the blonde fall for him. Soon after that, his friends joined in and it became a competition.

"But do you really think someone like her would fall for us?" Gajeel, who had his feet on top of his desk asked as he leaned against his chair.

"The real question is what if she falls for all of us?" the leader, Gray smirked as tapped his index finger on his desk while leaning against the palm of his hands.

Right now, the populars were sitting in a group, chairs and desk arranged in a way that looked like they were in a meeting. Their fan girls had returned to their own classes for fear of being late when the bell rings. So now, the class was still peaceful with only them and a couple of other guys who didn't care about their existence. I mean, Which guy would?

"Gajeel has a point though," the orange-haired playboy, Loke stated thoughtfully, "Think about it, she hates us. It would be hard to make her like us, much less fall for us."

"Didn't you know, there's a thin line between hate and love?" Laxus said as he crossed his arms across his chair and his feet placed on top of a desk, mimicking Gajeel's actions.

"I wonder why she hates us, did we ever do anything to her?" Gray asked as he tried remembering and came to a conclusion, "Nope, we definitely did not."

"Maybe it's because you were being a jerk to her just now." Gajeel replied with a smirk when a mischievous smile played on his lips, "And also got rejected."

Heat rose to the raven-haired's cheek as he placed the back of his hand to cover his face and looked away, "No I did not,"

"Yes you did, you offered her a date and she said no," Loke looked at him with amusement and glanced at his watch, "Where's Jellal? He's taking so long, it's almost bell."

"Maybe the Cafeteria is full and he had to queue up for making the reservations," Gray replied as he got up and placed his sit in the original seating arrangement of the class, the other member of the populars did the same and they sat down.

Students, one by one started to arrive in their class and as expected, the girls who came in squealed in excitement as they were in one class with not one, but all the populars. The guys however, did not bother with them at all and just headed with their seats.

Just then, Lucy and Levy entered the class, who gave Gray one glance and scoffed before heading to her own seat. Shortly afterwards, a familiar redhead entered the classroom, he hair loose and she walked in with her chest high and gave the populars one look, which showed no interest before heading to her seat which she chose, next to Lucy and Levy.

"Hey, who's that?" Loke whispered to Gray, "She's got the looks." He commented with a hint of interest in his voice before Gray stopped him.

"Erza Scarlet. That one's off limits though, she only has her eyes on one guy, as far as I know." Gray replied as both of them observed the redhead's movement.

"And who might that lucky man be?" the orange haired playboy asked playfully, with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Our own Jellal Fernandes," Gray responded with a smirk and laughed when Loke slumped back on his chair with a sigh of defeat, "Yeah you're right, that one's definitely off limits."

There was a moment of silence before Loke spoke again, "But if Jellal doesn't like her then-"

"They had a history together," Gray cut him off, knowing what he was about to say. Loke, in response abruptly leaned forward his desk, "They did?! So what's their status now?" he asked, intrigued.

"None, but there are still tensions between them."

"Is that why Jellal doesn't seem interested in the blonde nor other girls? Because of Erza Scarlet?" Loke asked in disbelief, trying to digest the information that he had just received.

"I don't know, Jellal never gave any details but he does react differently with her so I guess he never got over her."

"I wonder what happened,"

Speak of the devil, the door opened revealing the blue-haired they had just been talking about. He walked in with his hands inside his pockets and sat just behind Loke. "Why so long Jellal?" the playboy turned behind him and asked.

"Nothing," the blue-haired replied as he took out some books from his bag and placed it on his desk, arranging them neatly for the subject they're about to have.

"Hmm, if you say so.."

* * *

"So guess what Erza?" the bluenette bookworm asked excitedly as she saw the redhead entering the class and sitting next to her and her best friend.

The redhead or Erza, gave her a questioning look before Levy answered, "So this morning, something happened between Lucy and the populars."

"Really Lucy?" Erza asked and turned to Lucy, giving her a disbelief look. "What did you do to them?"

"Hey! Don't just assume I did something to them," the blonde pouted playfully at Erza who in turn, chuckled at her childishness.

Just before Levy could continue with her story, a familiar figure with long white hair approached them with a wave and a smile. "Hey Mira!" Lucy greeted, smiling back. Mira walked to an empty seat behind Erza and placed her bag down as she too, sat on her seat, joining the conversation. "So what's new?"

"Well as I was telling Erza just now…" Levy started, "Lucy did something unbelievable to one of the populars today,"

Mira, immediately turned to Lucy, her eyes literally twinkling as she started to squeal, "Did you kiss them?" Lucy looked at her in disbelief. Yes, this was one of her best friends, Mira, or Mirajane. She was the matchmaker of the group and she had the urge to ship Lucy with anyone, almost everyone.

"What? Of course no," Lucy waved her hand in defense and stated with distaste, "That will never happen in a million years Mira,"

"Hmm…you never know," Mira sang cheerfully as she turned back to Levy, "So what happened?"

"So…" Levy started once again and continued as the bell rang, "Gray asked her to book a place for the populars in the Cafeteria for lunch and Lucy, being herself, stood up to him and refused."

Before anyone could reply, Levy held a hand to stop them, "And that's not even the worse part!" She said, shaking her head in disapproval, "She kinda…mocked him,"

"Woah, you did?" Mira asked in surprised to which Erza responded, "As expected of Lucy," she said patting the said blonde on her shoulder as a sign of approval.

The door opened and the teacher entered, beginning the first class of the day.

* * *

"Waaahh, I can't believe school is dismissed early today," Lucy yawned and stretched her hands upward as she, together with Levy, Mira and Erza walked out of the school gates. "We didn't even get our lunch break." She whined.

"Hmmm…" Levy said thoughtfully, "I know! What about we go to this new café that has just opened up?" she suggested. The others took it into consideration before nodding.

"Well I was going to be picked up at the usual school dismissal time anyway," Erza shrugged and continued their conversation as they walked into a neighboring town, which looked like a shopping district. There were shops for stationeries, sports equipment and even the latest fashions on one side, and on the other side were ramen shops and snacking bars, even desert place. Turning around the corner, they reached the café Levy had talked about.

These areas were actually part of Fairy Tail Academy as the principal had bought the land so that students had an option of either eating here or the Cafeteria in school. It was better to keep choices open after all, this was also part of the reason why Fairy Tail Academy was a famous school.

With a push, the glass door opened and inside was designed classically. The floorboard were wooden floorboards and there were chairs as well as sofas and on the walls were clean, sparkling windows. Choosing a seat in the corner of the Café, near the window, all of them walked and sat down and started to look at the menu.

After a while of deciding what to order, Levy called the waiter and as they waited, a question popped.

"Why were we dismissed early anyway?"

There was a moment of silence before one of them spoke up, it was Mira. "There is a rumor going around the school," she whispered as if telling a secret and they leaned closer to hear her out. "Fairy Tail is going to combined with another school."

Erza gave her a confused look and asked, "Which school and why?"

"Well I don't know which school yet but all I know is that it's also as famous as Fairy Tail."

Levy shot a look at Lucy who bit her lips unconsciously and clutched the hem of her skirt tightly. _"No…There is no way,"_ the blonde thought to herself comfortingly.

"And why would that be happening again?" Levy asked as she raised her eyebrows.

"Well I can't tell you about that one,"

Levy gave her a puppy-dog's eyes and pouted before Mira finally gave in, "Fine, but shh kay?" she said and held her index finger against her lips.

"So in the meeting between Principals a month ago, there was a rumor that Master Makarov had challenge one of the principals saying that if his students came to Fairy Tail, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the lessons. It was meant to be a joke but the principal of that school took it seriously and decided to transfer their students to Fairy Tail for a short while." Mira finished her explanation with a sigh, "And today, they probably dismissed us because Master Makarov needs to go to that school together with teachers and decide how all of it would go."

There was another moment of silence as all of them tried to register the information being given to them before Erza nodded, "Master Makarov can be childish sometimes, hmm…"

"Well yeah but I mean-" Levy's word was cut off before she could finish it.

"Excuse me, may I take your order?"

All of them looked up to see the person who had interrupted their conversation. Seeing the waiter in front of them, Lucy was the first to react. She stood up and hugged him.

"I've missed you…"

* * *

 **Jleoxx** **:** Well how was it? I'm sorry it took so long and for those of you who have read 'Step by Step' before, you probably know who it is. Not much fluff in this chapter but hey! There was some question that came up right? One of them is who is the person Lucy hugged, second would be which school and which student will transfer? Hehehe~

 **Replies to Reviews** **:**

 **rolulove4ever** : So, as a reader from the previous 'Step by Step', what do you think? Although, I added more plot and storyline tho… hmm..

 **Shamrock0311:** Awwww, thanks!

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 **Saranau34:** Thank you for reviewing!

 **InnocentSorrow:** We'll have to see that one for later, no spoiler remember?

 **Guest:** Hahaha, me too! Thank you for reviewing by the way~

 **VA-fan-G-Girl-25** **:** Well here you go, more of this~ Hahaha

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Don't forget to review guys~ Reviews tend to motivate me after all! Favorite and Follow too!


	3. The Past Returns to Haunt Her

**Disclaimer** **:** _I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!_

* * *

" _I've missed you…"_

Lucy released herself from him as she stared at the familiar white-hair teen in front of her. She smiled and blushed at her sudden action previously. The man standing in front of her though didn't seem to mind and he placed a hand on top of her head, ruffling it lightly, "I've missed you too, Lucy."

"Where have you been?" she pouted, completely forgetting that there were others beside them in the room right now.

The others looked at Lucy in wonder as they gape at the scene before them. They had never seen Lucy so….loving and subtle towards a guy before. It was as if seeing a scene of a sister reunited with her long lost brother and it was touching.

"I went to settle some business first but now I'm back," the white-hair teen grinned as he looked over past Lucy and to the rest of them. He observed their uniforms and said to himself, "Fairy Tail Academy?"

"Yep!" Lucy exclaimed and finally realizing that she has yet introduced them to each other, she started from Levy, "So Levy, this is Lyon." And continued with the rest of the group.

"Another interesting fact, this guy here-" she pointed towards the said-man and smiled mischievously, "-is still single and available too!"

The white hair teen, or Lyon flinched at hearing the statement and he twitched before turning to Lucy and started pinching her cheeks, "I'm not available dammit,"

"But you're still single, so how come you're not available?" she whined, her words stretching as he continued on playing with her cheeks.

Het let go of her as she rubbed her cheeks, pouting playfully and placed a hand on her head, "Because I still have to take care of you," he smiled which then turned to a frown a moment later, "-and also my little brother."

There was a moment of silence before Lucy turned to him, her eyes widened as she practically screamed, "YOU HAVE A BROTHER?!"

"Well, not biological brother but sort of," he replied and turned to the rest of the group, offering a genuine friendly smile, "You guys should know him though, he's also in Fairy Tail Academy."

"Ah!" Levy suddenly exclaimed, jabbing a finger towards his direction, "Don't tell me you're-" she said, as if some realization had just set in but before she could say anything further, the bell in the Café rang signaling there were new customers.

"-and so my brother actually works here," a deep manly voice echoed throughout the room as the person stepped inside the Café together with his group of friends. Shocked faces were all over the Café as the two groups of students from Fairy Tail Academy went face to face with each other.

Lucy regained her composure first and she turned to glare at the man as she hissed, "Gray…"

The said-man simply smirked upon hearing her say his name, "Lucy Heartfilia right?" he said, stepping dangerously closer to her.

Lyon, who seemed completely lost in the situation turned to her friends with confused looks, "They know each other?" he whispered slowly, sensing the tension between the Lucy and Gray.

"Yeah and they hate each other, well she does." Levy whispered back filling him with the details, "Your brother is quite popular, you know."

"Ah yeah I've heard," Lyon replied softly, "What does that have to do with Lucy hating him? Did he ever do anything bad to her?"

"Not really but well…" she stared at Lyon for a while with a knowing look before realization set in and he gulped, "Right…that,"

"You know about _that?"_ the bookworm asked in surprise earning a nod in response, "She took it really hard on herself," he replied looking grim and sighed sadly before turning his attention back to Lucy and Gray who seemed to be having a glaring contest, well at least Lucy did.

"Ah! So you were the guy who comforted her during those times!" she related and smiled, "She mentions about you a lot."

"Umm… guys," the white haired girl or Mira, who had been sitting quietly all this time tapped onto Levy's shoulder as she whispered, "This seems to be getting quite dangerous, don't you think so?"

All of them turned their attention to both Lucy and Gray and yes, Mira was right, it does seem to be getting quite dangerous. Lucy was literally growling at Gray who seemed to have taken her reaction as an entertainment and in return, mocked making it worse than it already was.

"Your face might stay like that if you keep your expression any longer and we wouldn't want that would we?" he mocked with a smirk.

"Tch," Lucy scoffed hearing his remark, "Why would you care?"

"Hey, hey," the raven-hair started, a hint of amusement evident in his voice. "Shouldn't you be grateful that someone who you have made fun of in the class this morning is still treating you this nicely?"

Hearing his statement, she twitched and said, full of sarcasm, with a forced smile on her face, "And what would be 'treating me this nicely' mean again? Besides, I did not make fun of you in class, I simply didn't want to do what you told me to."

She didn't notice when one of his friends stepped up in front of him and in front of her. "He meant that usually we would've tried making your life in school hard but we haven't done so," she looked up and met a pair of cold eyes staring down at her, she caught a glimpse of his blonde hair and his signature headphone before turning away, avoiding his gaze.

"And what would you know about that?" she muttered softly under her breath, barely audible for any of them to hear.

Gray watched their interactions with interest before stepping in front of them and deciding to irritate the blonde even further, he placed a hand on her head and patted in a slow manner, "Have you regretted not accepting that offer yet?" he leaned down closer to her and met her unwavering gaze.

She slapped his hand away and glared harder, "As if, you-" she was about to throw a string of insults towards him before he was stopped by a hand interfering the gap between them. Lyon stepped in and stopped them, "Right, that's enough." He stated firmly to both of them.

He turned to Lucy and introduced, "So this is my little brother, Gray." There was a deafening silence as he watched Lucy's expression turned to one of speechless to surprise to annoyance and finally confusion. She looked away only replied with a simple, "oh."

"And Gray," Lyon turned to the raven-haired teen introducing the blonde to him, "This is my little sister."

Gray's expression did not change much from hearing his declaration. It didn't matter to him, after all, none of them were biologically related but it did bother him how his 'brother' could be so close to such a girl. He did mention his 'little sister' a lot of time before but then… Gray smirked, he could use this as an advantage to know more about Lucy and in no time, she might just fall for him.

"Hehh~" Gray looked at her in amusement, "Well nice to meet you, Lucy- _chan_ "

Meanwhile, a certain blue-haired and redhead had been having their own tension for a while now which went unnoticed by everyone else. During the Gray-and-Lucy confrontation, the blue-haired teen had stayed behind their group, his shirt unbuttoned on the first two buttons and his tie dangling loosely from his collar. He gave the redhead who was sitting on the sofa a glance every now and then.

She, on the other hand, even though she looked calm and composed on the outside, was also feeling uncomfortable because of the blue-haired teen staring at her now and then, which did not go unnoticed by her. Yes, she, the Erza Scarlet, who was also well-known for being one of the scariest and strongest women in the school, was nervous.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, she turned to the blue-haired man and she was taken aback when their eyes met. He looked at her longingly and sadly. She knew what those eyes meant, she knew the reason behind and immediately turned away.

" _Please Erza, hear me out…"_ his voice echoed in her mind as she tried shaking the thoughts out of her head. _"Give me a chance to make this right…please,"_ his voice haunted her as those memories kept on repeating in her head. His pleading voice and how he sounded so…genuine.

"Tch, I've lost my appetite, let's go somewhere else." Lucy suddenly offered as the redhead was suddenly snapped out of her trance. The blonde who seemed agitated stomped her way out of the Café after saying, "I'll come back some other time Lyon," and slammed the door shut with a ring of the bell.

As soon as Lucy left, Levy and Mirajane too followed. She, on the other hand hesitated, still feeling uncomfortable as she left the place in silence, giving the blue-haired one last glance and followed after her three other friends.

* * *

" _Well nice to meet you, Lucy-chan."_ Gray's voice echoed in her ears even though she was already outside the Café and walking aimlessly. She knew well that Gray was the one who said those words but even so, her heart still clenched as she remembered and for a moment, the raven-hair of Gray's were replaced by blonde hair.

She squeezed her eyes and breathes out a sigh of relief as she heard her friend's footsteps following behind her. "Are you okay, Lucy?" Mira asked her in worry and she nodded before shrugging it off, "Just that those guys made me lose my appetite, let's eat somewhere else okay?"

* * *

After their lunch in the Cafeteria, Gray decided to stay behind and have a little talk with his brother. He stepped in the kitchen where his brother was and asked, with arms folded across his chest, "What's with you and her?"

"Me and who?" his brother replied as he continued wiping the counter, not giving him the slightest attention.

"You and Lucy,"

"She's my little sister, Gray." Lyon replied with no hesitation.

"Nothing more?"

Lyon stopped his cleaning at this question and turned to Gray with amusement in his eyes, "Jealous?"

"Tsk," the raven-haired scoffed, "Not really. I was just making sure."

"What for?" the white-hair asked as he mindlessly continued wiping the counter, listening to Gray's explanation.

"Well if she was something more than a sister to you then I will back off,"

"Wow, I see you like her," Lyon teased.

"Not really, I just want to make her fall in love for me. After all, how could there be a girl who can not fall in love with Gray Fullbuster." By the end of his sentence, his collar was gripped tightly by his 'brother' who glared at him intensely, danger was written all over his eyes, "Don't you dare play with her feelings, Gray." He threatened carefully.

Quite taken aback, Gray stumbled backwards before forcing Lyon's grip from his collar and choked, "That's quite a reaction for someone who is only your 'little sister', isn't it?"

"You don't understand." The older teen said in distaste as he looked away. Silence filled the room before he broke it, "It will backfire Gray, trust me."

"No it won't," the raven-haired said confidently before walking out of the Café, leaving only Lyon who watched him disappeared from his eyesight.

" _Be careful, Gray. Nothing ever goes as planned."_

* * *

Today was officially going to be the first full day of school in Fairy Tail Academy and it seemed as though there were some announcement to be made before their first class will start. The air inside Lucy's class was especially thick. This was it, the moment of truth.

Every students were whispering softly, anticipating of what the announcement was. Was the rumor really true? If so, then who were the transfer students and from which school were they from? Were they boys or girls and how many? So many questions clouded all of their minds and all of them were excited to know the answers, well almost all of them.

Lucy was sitting in her seat, eyes clenched shut and her heart pounding loudly inside her chest as she bit her bottom lip and prayed against all odds that it would not be who she expected it to be.

"So we will have transfer students who will be schooling here for quite a while, please treat them nicely." The teacher announced and called in the students, "You may enter."

Lucy opened her eyes as five pairs of footsteps resounded throughout the classroom. Time seemed to stopped right there and she froze, unable to move from her spot.

Her heart skipped a beat, not from excitement but for thousand of reasons which she could not explained and her breathing hitched as she started to clutched the hems of her skirt tightly, her eyes fixed to the front of the class as the new transfer students stepped inside. No, not new, well at least not to her.

The entire class went silent, the tension rising as the girls blushed at the sight of the new transfer students. I mean who wouldn't? their presence were really…alluring and every student right there knew that this might just be someone who might outrank the populars based on the girls' reaction towards them. They were excited, to get to know them but not Lucy.

One of the students' eyes seemed to be locked in a gaze with her, those cold eyes of his seeming to bring back all those memories she has been trying to forget.

"Uhh well," one the student, the blonde one, cleared his throat, "Nice to meet you-"

She didn't need to hear anymore. She knew who he was, so clearly with every tiniest bit of detail.

"-My name is Sting Eucliffe," the blonde finished with an arrogant smirk and his eyes directed towards only one girl in the room, Lucy Heartfilia.

* * *

 **JLeoxx** **:** Sting is here! Wooo! Make a guess who's the other students, c'mon! Did any of you guess that Sting would be here? Oh right hmmm…just a glimpse for future chapter, there is something fishy between Lucy and Laxus~

 **Replies to Reviews:**

 **rolulove4ever:** How was it? Better than the original version right? Their meeting I mean~

 **.744:** Thank you! So what did you think of Sting's appearance?

 **xtanshix:** Here you go! An update~

 **silversparks909:** Thank you for reviewing!

 **Fiery Keys:** Hahahaha me too! Thank you for reviewing!

 **misxlove14:** Well Natsu will be in, in later chapters though and there might be a poll to decide Lucy's pairings. But that's still in the future so yeah.

 **FairyTail555:** Hahahaha, Thank you for reviewing!

Well that's all, Thank you for reviewing, it really means a lot! So…Don't forget to review, favorite and follow kay?


	4. Mine to Begin With

**Disclaimer** **:** _I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does._

* * *

" _-My name is Sting Eucliffe," the blonde finished with an arrogant smirk and his eyes directed towards the only one girl in the room, Lucy Heartfilia._

The blonde stepped aside, letting his other friends introduced themselves. Getting the same reaction, a man with black-hair and emotionless red eyes stepped up and cleared his throat, "My name is Rogue Cheney, nice to meet you." He finished quickly and stepped aside.

The next definitely got most out of the girl's reaction. Some of them couldn't hold back their squeal as the man bowed in a gentlemanly manner, "Rufus Lore." He winked and stood beside Rogue who had his hands crossed against his chest. Next was a man with green-hair, his body was almost, if not bigger than Laxus. "Orga Nanagear."

The last was a girl. She had a slim slender body, her first button was loose and her tie was dangling loose. Her aura was terrifying but at the same time, alluring. She smiled menacingly as she licked her lips and introduced herself. "Minerva Orland, pleased to meet you."

"These students are from Sabertooth, please treat them well." The teacher said and gestured the empty seats, "Now, you may go seat."

The blonde girl who had her eyes fixed on Sting the whole time was nervous, her palm was sweating and she prayed against all odds that he would not be the one sitting behind her as there was an empty seat. But of course, even if he doesn't sit behind her, he would be near… They would all be near. The only empty seats left in the room were all those near Lucy and her group of friends.

Rogue was the first one to move from his position and she let out a breath of relief when she saw, from the corner of her eyes, Rogue settling down behind her.

Her eyes then turned back to Sting and she watched his movement carefully as he walked closer…and closer to her. He stopped for a brief moment, his hands gently placed on her desk as he leaned down beside her ear and whispered huskily, "Nice to meet you again, Lucy- _chan_." And he walked away as if nothing happened and settled behind Rogue.

To him, it may be nothing but it definitely affected her. His voice sent shivers down her spine and even now, she still felt the goosebumps lingering. She froze on her spot and kept repeating words inside her head to comfort herself. " _You're over him_." She repeated over and over again as if it was some sort of chant.

Levy turned around and stared at her worriedly. She could notice how disturbed Lucy was definitely. She watched Sting's movement and gave a look of distaste at the man, who was now taking out his books calmly, with no expression whatsoever.

The rest of the three sat beside Sting and behind him, further from Lucy and the rest of her friends.

Meanwhile, Gray watched from the corner of his eyes curiously at Lucy's odd reaction towards Sting. For a moment, he thought that she might have a love at first sight on Sting but as he observed deeper, he realized that no, it was not that. It was more like, she was pained at his existence and yet, there were still some longing deep in her eyes, so deep down, that it might have gone unnoticed by others but not him, definitely not him.

He gritted his teeth when he saw Sting whispered something to her. She looked definitely uncomfortable after that and pained. Why? What was her relationship with Sting before? It bothered him, he doesn't know why but it did. He didn't like the sight of Lucy looking so weak and vulnerable to such a guy, especially not after how she stood up to him, someone who can easily make everyone in class hate her.

He shook his head, attempting to forget about it for now. He has plenty of time to figure it out and there was also Lyon, who might not be so willing to help but he might know something.

* * *

The bell rang and class was dismissed. Lucy shifted uncomfortably in her seat and had the urge to turn back every now and then to see what was happening with Sting and the girls who were starting to approached him. Well maybe not only girls but mostly.

His laughter rang through her ears and she clutched her chest unconsciously as she felt a pain shot deep within. "Lu-chan, let's go." Levy looked at her sadly and offered, "Mira and Erza are already downstairs."

The blonde got up from her seat and walked beside Levy. "You know," she whispered softly, "At times like this, I actually wish I liked one of the populars."

She chuckled to herself at her own words and reasoned out, "If so, then it wouldn't hurt so much." Holding a hand towards her forehead, she squeezed her eyes shut before letting a breath that she didn't even realized she had been holding.

Levy could not say anything so much, they had been friends for as long as she could remember but this was the first time she saw Lucy hurting so much. Usually, Lucy would get upset about it or be in denial, but never once when she was hurting did she admitted it, except now.

Reaching the Cafeteria, they were greeted by crowded voices echoing through the huge room. There were footsteps everywhere and the sound of clanking of glasses. The smell of food also spread throughout the room reaching even outside.

From the distance, they could see Erza and Mira waving from their seats they had previously booked. She was glad that she had booked the place first or else she would be one of those who were in lining up in the queue to get a place to sit.

Once seated, Mira asked them, "What are you ordering?"

"Hmm… what's today's special?" Levy asked as she looked around the room to meet a pair of red eyes staring at her, or _through her._ She watched his movement as he walked along together with his group of friends- the populars, and unfortunately, sat just right beside the table, underneath the chandelier, in the center of the room.

"There's Fairy's special sandwich with salad on the side and Fairy's ribeye steak with mushroom sauce." Mira replied as she scrolled through the device in front of her.

"I'll have the sandwich," Levy replied, "What about you, Lu-chan?"

There was a moment of silence before Lucy snapped out of her thoughts, "Right!" She smiled, too forcefully earning worried glance from Erza and Mira. "I'll have the usual Fairy's salad with mayonnaise dressing."

"Alright what about drinks? Erza and I are having vanilla milkshake." Mira said, placing the orders they had previously ordered.

"Chocolate milkshake and strawberry milkshake for Lucy," Levy turned to Lucy with a smile and confirmed, "Right?"

"Awww, you know me too well Levy-chan." The blonde replied playfully. Her smile soon left her when the group of new students entered the room and sat on a previously reserved seat for them. Not far from them but not beside them either. She narrowed her eyes and realized that, there were only four people instead of five. Who was missing?

"Alright, all orders have been placed." Mira exclaimed and put over the ordering device aside and leaned closer to them with sparkling eyes, "What do you think of the new students?"

Lucy flinched inwardly which was not noticed by any of them but Levy knew she was uncomfortable with the topic so she tried to shrug it off away, "They're okay, the populars are definitely more…" she tried finding the word before saying, "-wow," instead.

"That Sting, definitely hot. Right Erza?" She said turning to Erza who kept her arms crossed across her chest as she disagree, "I'd say that I have to agree with Levy on this one."

The white hair pouted and huffed, "Aren't you just saying that because there's Jellal?" This immediately caused Erza to shot a look at Mira.

The topic left at that when their foods came a moment later and they started eating. "It's unusually quiet, don't you think so?" the redhead asked and took a bite from her sandwich.

"What do you mean?" Mira asked raising an eyebrow and sipped from her vanilla milkshake.

"Usually there would be fights going on or screams of fangirls." Erza replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"That is true," Levy said thoughtfully. She glanced around the room and found it unusually peaceful. Why? And then she saw the reason. The populars were talking, seriously. Not goofing around or abusing their power. She noticed how Gray looked unusually deep in thoughts while, Laxus was as usual, with his headphones and not talking. Gajeel too kept quiet and that goes for Jellal too. Loke who was usually with girls were alone today, having a quiet conversation with Gray while occasionally glancing at a table across them. Following his gaze, she saw a table seated with four people, _the Sabers I see…_

Just as they finished their food and Lucy was about to throw away the plastics and leftovers. A raven-haired approached her. The Cafeteria went silent as they watched the number one most wanted boyfriends- well at least for now, approached the blonde.

"Hey," the raven-haired started and a smirk played on his lips, "Would you mind helping me throw this?"

Lucy flinched but instead of throwing a bunch of insults at him or mocking him like he expected, she just simply replied with a 'no' and walked away. Just this was able to make the crowd gawked at her. She was refusing to do a simple request from Gray? She was about to walk away and proceeded in what she was about to do before Gray grabbed her wrist and pulled her, "Oii where has your usual attitude gone to?" he asked.

She sighed, not looking at him, "I'm just not in the mood, now can you please let me go?" she asked shaking off his hand from her wrist. He reluctantly complied with her wish and let her go, staying where he was, trying to register what had just happened.

"I'm going to class first," Lucy said when she returned from throwing away her rubbish and headed outside the Cafeteria.

"Is it just me or is Lucy looking really drained?" Mira spoke and Erza nodded, both turning at Levy who avoided their gaze and instead looked towards to where Lucy had left, worried.

* * *

Lucy walked out of the Cafeteria wanting to head to her class first before the rest, or maybe the bathroom. Anywhere, just somewhere where she could be alone and deal with her thoughts. What was she supposed to feel when the memory and the person she had been trying to forget, came back that easily, breaking away all her efforts.

She went where her feet took her and instead of reaching her classroom, she reached the last flight of stair to the rooftop. Opening the door knob, the wind blew past her. Her hair swayed and her clothes too became messy. Unlike her expectation however, she wasn't alone.

Across her, a man with black hair was sitting and leaning against the wall with his eyes close, one hand laid on top of his knee. Thinking that he was asleep, she turned around as quickly and as soundlessly as possible, hoping she wouldn't wake him before she found out she was mistaken. His voice, low and husky stopped her in her tracks. "It's been a while, Lucy."

With hesitation, she turned around to meet the eyes of the man, his red eyes staring right through her. Gulping, she voiced out, "Yes…It's been quite…a while." His eyes still did the same effect it did on her years before, it had always intimidated her and she felt so small under his gaze…every single time.

The tension increased as another gush of wind past by them. Despite the blazer she was wearing, she shivered. Probably because of the continuous heavy wind passing them or maybe, just maybe the thought that the man who she never would have expected to meet again was right now here, in front of her. "Why aren't you in the Cafeteria with the others Rogue?" she tried asking, walking slowly closer towards him, feeling quite uncomfortable at how he watched her every movement closely.

"It's too crowded for my liking," he replied quietly.

"I see that you're still the same huh," She couldn't help but smile at the sight of the man in front of her. She leaned over the railings and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air. Silence filled them but unlike before, it was relaxing and comfortable, like all her worries were gone just by being there. It was funny how one moment her world seemed crushed and the next, all the problems that made her feel that way were for a moment, gone.

She breathe out with satisfaction as if the burden that had been on her before were suddenly lifted of her chest. That is, before Rogue's voice suddenly broke her comfortable silence. "You know he wants you back."

Just these few words made her world came crashing back down, her worries back and she froze, unable to utter a single word except for, "Why?"

There was no response from his side. He was still in his previous sitting position, his chest heaved up and down at a steady pace and when she knew he didn't intend to answer her, she turned around and started walking towards the door.

Turning the door knob lightly, when she had one foot inside the building once again, his voice stopped her. It was quiet but full of conviction and it made her heart break into little pieces, "I'm still waiting, Lucy…. _always_ ," with that, she closed the door shut.

* * *

"So what's with the blonde?" Loke asked looking bored at Gray who was deep in his thoughts, who had not say a word after Lucy's response at him. "Oii Gray," he called out once again when he noticed the raven-haired weren't listening at all.

Snapping out of his thought, Gray raised a brow in confusion at the playboy who in turned sighed, "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

The raven-haired shook his head in response and Loke immediately smiled in mischief, "Tsk tsk, looks like someone has fallen in love~" he sang teasing the raven-haired and enjoying himself when Gray's face turned red either from embarrassment or anger but probably the former.

He looked away, "Tch who would fall for someone like that?" he said in defense and got up from his seat, "I'm going back to class."

Once he was out of sight, the group spoke among themselves. "You really think he fell for her already?" Laxus asked, keeping his headphones hanging on his neck.

"Hmm…what do you think? It's quite obvious don't you think?" Loke replied with a grin before it disappeared and was replaced with a wicked smile, "But it's too bad I won't let him take her away from me."

"Someone's gotten pretty serious huh," Laxus replied him, his voice flat as ever.

"Unlike Gray, I won't deny it," he started, a hint of seriousness in his voice for the first time in a long time, "I like her, she's definitely different."

"What about you?" Loke asked as he raised an eyebrow at Laxus who seemed uninterested in answering and decided to leave it at that. "Alright I'm also going back to cl-" just before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a voice, deep and rough.

"Hmmm…what is this? Did I just hear someone say that he is going to get Lucy Heartfilia?" the man said as he placed his hand on the center of the table and leaned forward, an arrogant smirk playing on his lips.

"Sting Eucliffe right? Are you sure you want to be doing this? Cause I'm pretty sure-"

His words were cut short when Sting leaned forward, challenging him even more with eyes that were meant to intimidate his prey, "You can't threaten me."

Loke, caught by surprise for a moment broke into a sigh and slumped back into his seat, "I see, so what do you want?" he looked over behind the blonde and realized that his friends were behind him too.

Jellal, Laxus and Gajeel too straightened their posture. The air between them became heavy as none of them said anything and the tension increased. The Cafeteria went silent as they observed the two groups facing against each other before the blonde broke the silence. "Lucy Heartfilia is mine."

There was a moment of silence before Loke burst into laughter, he laughed so hard tears formed in his eyes while clutching the side of his stomach. He thought that the blonde would show some sign that he was joking but no, he was definitely serious. "And what makes you think so?"

The blonde retreated his hand from their table and turned away, walking towards the door of the Cafeteria. Loke's brow creased and he gritted his teeth, not missing the smirk on the blonde's face. He knew that the blonde's answer would be something he wouldn't like. Clenching his fist he got up to his feet, looking at the back of the man whose figure was disappearing from their sight and just before he completely disappear, he uttered a word which none of them missed.

" _Because she was mine to begin with…"_

* * *

 **JLeoxx** **:** Okay **, IMPORTANT!** Who do you think Lucy should be with? I'm going to be completely honest here, I really want Rogue and Lucy together like omg, just the cutest pairing ever. And if so, I would also have a perfect background for them already. It's still in the future though so I guess we'll still have some time before deciding.

Tell me in the review section who you want her to be with. Sting? Rogue? Gray? Loke?

 **Replies to Reviews** **:**

 **FairyTail555, taboadayvonne, Blood-doll:** Well here ya go! An update~ Was it up to expectation or… not so? Hmmm… I hope you like it.

 **rolulove4ever:** YESS definitely! I really like how Lyon is like so protective over Lucy with pure intentions only as an older brother and nothing more~

 **xtanshix:** Hahahaha, LyLu is definitely a good pairing, I wonder why there aren't many fanfics on that :(So how do you like the new update?

 **Skyline179:** Ummm yeah I guess so…

 **booklover21567:** Thank youuuu, what do you think of Sting's character? .

 **Requim:** I'll try my best :D

 **King-or-Whatever:** Well I'm really glad you're enjoying this so here's a new update! Hehehe~

Do not forget to review, favorite and follow. Also, tell me what you think will happen next? It's always nice to know other's perspective after all. :D


	5. Tears

**Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does…**_

* * *

Chapter 5 – Tears

" _Because she was mine to begin with."_

The room went silent. No one said anything for a while before Loke repeated, " _Mine to begin with?_ " They were processing each word carefully and the more they thought about it, the more puzzling it became. Loke slumped back onto his chair and looked over at Laxus, who closed his eyes and was unconsciously emitting a very dangerous aura around him. This made him even more confused, why would Laxus care now? He didn't seem to care before…

He turned to Jellal and Gajeel who didn't seem at all interested. Finally, realizing that they were going nowhere, Loke stood up abruptly from his seat and walked away to what the rest of them assumed- to class.

Upon reaching class, he was greeted by the sight of Lucy with a book open in front of her while fidgeting with her fingers. She didn't seem to concentrate on reading at all, but most likely, she was just trying to keep herself busy. Why?

Two seats behind her was Sting who was watching the windows, his chin resting upon the palm of his hand but even so, he didn't missed the way Sting was watching her movements every now and then with a smirk on his face.

A sudden cough interrupted his observation and he was greeted by the sight of an agitated Gray. With a slight of amusement on his face, he approached the raven-haired man and sat behind him. "So what happened?"

"Is it just me or does it looks like Lucy is acting really weird?" Gray asked with his eyes fixed on the girl.

"Weird? How so?" He chuckled and inwardly sighed to himself. How can Gray not realize the reason why she was acting this way? Not observant enough, he thought to himself.

"She's been acting so differently and she didn't even seem to care no matter how much I've tried provoking her." Gray grunted in annoyance. Was this really just simply a matter of making her fall in love with him for the satisfaction of it or was there something more? Only time would tell…

Suddenly the book that was in front of the girl previously fell with a loud thud, it was a really big book after all. She scrambled in trying to get it before Sting came into the picture. He kneeled down and handed the book to her with a smile on his face. Not a smirk, a smile…

Loke narrowed his eyes at their interaction. He didn't like it. He definitely didn't like how Sting was acting so gentlemanly right now, in front of her and how she seemed uncomfortable, how she tried to end the conversation as possible, not even looking at him while she replied him. He noticed that Sting finally sighed and returned back to his seat.

Smiling to himself, he commented, "Interesting…"

* * *

"Need some help?" Lucy looked down and much to her surprise, Sting Eucliffe was kneeling down and holding the book in front of her. She muttered a 'thanks' and reached out to take the book back. Just as her hand reached to take the book back, his hand that were holding the book before reached forward, their fingertips touching and a jolt of electricity shot through her. She immediately shot a look at him but he kept his hands on the book.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." He looked at her with apologetic eyes which made her slightly let her guard down but she forced herself to be strong and not be swayed by his words.

"Stop." Lucy said sternly and looked away, avoiding his gaze.

"Please Lucy, don't do this to me. I really did regret what I did back then." He said in a pleading voice that it made her heart clenched but she kept silent. She refused to go through it again, 'once is enough,' she thought.

Sting let go of the book from his hand and with a sigh, he returned to his place.

Back with Lucy, she felt like her heart was torn into a million pieces, once again. What if he really was sorry? Does she really want to close the door for the both of them? She was unsure of what she wanted but all she knew was that she was too scared to go back there. What happened back then was what made her lose fate of love and that was that. An end of her fairy tale love story, all her beliefs and dreams shattered.

Before she could recollect what had happened, her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door and a tall black-haired man entered the classroom. His hair was still messy and his clothes untucked, unbuttoned and his tie loose from his neck.

"Rogue, where did you go?" the green-haired man who had his legs on his desk asked. His voice was deep and manly, intimidating too which kind of reminded her of Laxus.

"That is true and why are you looking so…" the girl with a bun on both sides of her hair, Minerva said in disgust, trying to find the word before reaching to, "-unorganized?"

"I was trying to find some peace," the black-haired man, Rogue replied and said nothing more after sitting down behind the blonde who glanced once behind her. Her eyes meeting those emotionless eyes of his which then softens at the sight of her.

She bit her lips in guilt and muttered softly, "Sorry," which she did not expect him to hear but he did. There was a slight surprise in his expression but then he smiled softly and replied, "It's okay, I won't force you."

She smiled back at him but felt her chest tighten. Why was he so nice to her? He should be angry at her for leaving him hanging all this time and kept him waiting and yet…here he was telling her it was okay. Her chest felt heavy and she needed to let everything go before she could not manage the pain any longer and she knew just the person to go to.

The bell rang and after everyone returned to their classes and respective seats, class resumed.

* * *

"I'm going to stop by somewhere before going home so you guys can go ahead first kay?" Lucy waved as she bid her goodbyes before leaving class.

Once she was outside of class, she ran as fast as she could and turned around the corner, reaching the familiar place she had entered the previous day. Catching her breath, she opened the door and with the ring of the bell, she stepped inside.

"Welcome," a white-haired waiter greeted with a smile that soon disappeared when he saw the look on the blonde's face who was on the verge of tears. Tears welled up in her eyes and she immediately ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, her tears finally flowing free. Quite taken aback, he placed the menu from his hand back on the counter and place a hand on her head, "Let's talk about it kay?" he comforted her softly and she nodded slowly, still clutching his shirt.

* * *

Noticing that Lucy had left the class in a rush, Gray couldn't help but feel curious. He had heard her saying that she was going to stop by somewhere first but what was so urgent that she needed to go in such a rush? Shoving those thoughts behind, he walked outside of the class and urged his friends to go ahead and go home first. "I'm stopping by Lyon's Café for a while so you guys can go ahead."

His friends nodded and left. Meanwhile, he was left alone with his thoughts. He remembered Lucy's expression clearly, how she looked so much in pain that morning and her interactions with Sting. He was quite sure now that they had a history together, but how recent and more importantly how? This was the real reason he wanted to go to Lyon, he suspected that his brother must've known something about this. Sting, he heard was also a popular one in Sabertooth Academy, together with his friends who came to Fairy Tail Academy.

But unlike this school which made it clear with votings from the girls, their school had it differently. It was based on their marks and the number of girls that had asked them out. Gray scoffed at the thought of it. What was so good about the guy? But shook his head in disapproval, he didn't know the guy well enough to judge him yet so this was wrong of him.

He walked slowly, turning around the corner of the street and reaching the front door of the Café. Just before he was about to push the door open, he heard the crying of a girl from inside the Café. It was familiar, he stepped back carefully and slowly so he wouldn't get noticed, walking to the edge and slouched down below the window to hear the conversation more clearly.

"He came back, Lyon. He came back…" the girl sobbed, her voice cracking at the end.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Lyon squeezing the girl's hand tightly while rubbing her arms on the other side in a comforting manner. Just then, he felt a tiny hint of jealousy within him. Why couldn't he be there comforting her in place of Lyon? He gritted his teeth but listened closely to their conversation.

"I wondered if maybe I chose Rogue instead, will anything change?" Lucy asked as more tears flowed along her cheeks, "Maybe right now I would still believe in love, maybe I wouldn't hate Gray that much…He hasn't done anything bad to me particularly but-" she choked on her words when she felt her heart breaking once more, the memories of her past flashed past her.

Lyon, noticing the change in her expression immediately stopped her and held her to face him, "Look at me Lucy." He ordered softly. The blonde hesitantly turned towards him and held his gaze, "What's done is done so now all there's left to do is move forward. You can't change the past so it's pointless to keep asking question of 'what ifs'. Sting returning may mean that you need to face him one last time to truly get over him."

Lucy nodded before covering her face with her hands and sobbing quietly, "But Rogue, I've hurt him so much and yet he still…" She looked at him and asked, "Why? Why would he wait for someone like me?" her voice sounding desperate for answers.

His eyes softened at her words and smiled slightly, "Maybe because for him, you're worth the wait." That was all he said but she knew he wasn't just saying it to make her feel better. He could feel that he actually believed in his own words and knowing that, it comforted her.

A smile formed on her lips and she hugged the man in front of her tightly as she whispered softly, "Thank you Lyon…" and in return, he too smiled and hugged her back.

He narrowed his eyes towards the window across them and realized a certain raven-haired was eavesdropping on them. He smiled and shook his head in a disapproving manner.

"Tsk…" Gray scoffed to himself as he slumped against the wall. Since when had Lyon been so wise? But he was glad that Lucy wasn't crying anymore. He really didn't like to see the girl in such a state, she should be strong and standing up to him, he thought.

The doorbell rang as the door opened and the blonde who were previously inside the café, stepped outside and without noticing him, went straight back to what he would guess, home. This was a sign for him to go inside the café and asked about the full details from Lyon.

He stood up and brushed off the dirt from his pants and walked to the Café. Stepping inside, he was greeted by his brother smirking knowingly at him. There was a slight amusement on his face when he said, "You're not really good at hiding you know that?"

Gray sighed in defeat, "You knew?"

When Lyon didn't answer him, he took it as a 'yes'. He was about to ask before Lyon cut him off, "Are you here to ask about Lucy and Sting?"

He nodded and watched Lyon as he flipped the sign 'open' to 'close' on the Café's door and Gray took this as a chance to take a seat on the sofa, with Lyon following him behind.

After they settled on their seats, Lyon began, "I'll tell you alright," without waiting for a reply, he started.

"It all began 3 years ago…"

* * *

 **Jleoxx** **:** Not so interesting but I guarantee the next chapter will be a lot better. So next chapter will be mostly flashbacks with Lucy and Sting, in her point of view. I'll be replying to all the reviews from the last chapter and this chapter in the next chapter because I have no time right now, sorry.

Please don't forget to review, favorite and follow!


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